Maryland pulls away from Virginia Tech

February 01, 2014|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

By Kyle Bailey, The Sports Xchange

Maryland pulls away from Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Junior guard Dez Wells poured in 19 points off the bench and the Maryland Terrapins ran away from Virginia Tech in the second half to earn an 80-60 victory in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday.

After a competitive first half, Maryland used a 20-5 run to pull away from the young, undermanned Hokies. Wells, left out of the starting lineup for being late to a team meeting, responded well to the benching.

"As a team, we have to grow up and be a lot more mature than we have in the past," Wells said. "So that's our main point right now, just being mature, executing and not letting up on defense."

The Terrapins (13-9, 5-4 in the ACC) gave a complete team effort on the offensive end, as four players scored in double figures, six scored at least eight points, and nine broke into the scoring column.

Maryland entered the game shooting 43.7 percent from the floor, but on Saturday the Terps hit on an impressive 51.7 percent of their shots.

For the Terrapins, it was only the second conference road victory of the season, and it could not have come at a better time for coach Mark Turgeon's team, which is hoping for an NCAA Tournament bid on Selection Sunday.

"The next four games are the toughest part of our schedule," Turgeon said. "I just want our team to look like they like to play together ... and like they're coached. That's important to me, and I think we're starting to play that way."

Virginia Tech (8-13, 1-8) coach James Johnson has watched his team lose 11 of its last 12 games and eight consecutive ACC contests.

Freshman guard Ben Emelogu led the Hokies with 21 points. No other player scored in double figures. Hokies leading scorer Jarell Eddie was 0-for-9 from the floor.

Despite scoring 35 points and shooting 42 percent from the floor in the first half, Virginia Tech failed to carry the momentum into the final 20 minutes.

The Hokies made only 30.4 percent of their shots in the second half.

"You got to give Maryland a lot of credit," Hokies' coach James Johnson said. "They did a good job on us defensively, and they made shots."

In the first half, the Hokies looked like they came to play.

Freshman guards Emelogu and Devin Wilson provided Tech a spark from the opening tip. Emelogu gave the Hokies eight points in the first 7:42, finishing with 12 at the break. Wilson finished the first half with five points.

After falling behind, 21-15, the Terrapins came alive. Maryland reeled off a 10-0 run lead by guard Allen's back-to-back 3-pointers. Allen had 11 points at intermission.

Wells also provided an offensive lift in the first half, leading the Terrapins with 12 points.

Hokies guard Will Johnston made a contested layup and a corner 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to pull Tech to within two points with 1:32 left in the first half.

Maryland stole back to the momentum, hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to take a 43-35 lead into locker room at halftime.

For the second consecutive game, Virginia Tech played without guard Adam Smith (calf) and forward C.J. Barksdale (groin). Smith, the Hokies' second-leading scorer, has missed four straight game and is not expected back for at least another week.

Smith and Barksdale average a combined 19.6 points per game.

"It's tough," Johnson said. "It's very tough and frustrating for me to look down the bench and see three potential starters down there in suits. They're looking like me out there."

NOTES: Like the rest of Maryland's ACC farewell campaign, Saturday's game marked the final time that the Hokies and Terrapins will meet in Blacksburg as conference opponents. Maryland is 13-6 all-time in Cassell Coliseum. ... Entering Saturday, the Terps shot better than 48 percent in back-to-back games. Maryland last accomplished that feat in ACC play during the 2010-11 season against North Carolina State and Florida State. ... On Jan. 24, Whit Babcock was hired as director of athletics at Virginia Tech. Babcock most recently served in the same role for the University of Cincinnati. ... Virginia Tech travels to Tallahassee to face Florida State on Wednesday. ... Maryland visits North Carolina on Tuesday for its second consecutive road game.